The 98th Hunger Games
by sarahsmile99
Summary: This is the 98th Hunger Games. Rated T for the "Hunger Games idea".
1. Chapter 1

_Cambria's POV_

**District 6**

I woke to the sound of a dog barking, just like any other morning. But this isn't a regular morning. Today is the Reaping. Tivoli, my older brother, has his name in the bowl 7 times, 6 because he's 17, and one for tesserae to help support our family. _Cambria Everett_ is in the bowl 3 times, because I am 14. I have a younger brother as well, Reed, who is 12 and has his name in only once.

"Cambria, will I get picked?" Reed asks timidly. "I can't do anything."

"There's no way to tell Reed." I respond quietly. "It's all up to Sasha Kinsley."

Sasha Kinsley is District 6's advisor, and the lady who chooses the names of the tributes out of the glass ball.

"Your only in there once Reedy." I say, doing my best to calm his nerves.

He nods and I push off of the carpeted floor, scanning the house for my mom. I notice Tivoli's coat is gone from the coat rack and his black boots are missing as well.

"He must have headed out before the bell." I think to myself as I approach what my mom has set out for me to wear.

My white blouse and her patterned skirt are sitting on the dresser.

"I think your old enough now." my mom said, her hand resting on my shoulder.

The bell sounds and all of the children of District 6 filed out of their homes, all of their faces twisted into a nervous grimace. I approach the line of kids leading up to the Peacekeepers that are pricking fingers and sending everyone off to their designated age divisions.

"Next." the Peacekeepers calls and I present my hand, waiting for the sharp prick.

"Where is Conan?" I ask myself, while frantically looking about for his dark head in the crowd.

Conan has been my friend since my first year of school, where they taught us the basics of transportation and not one of us first graders had any idea what they were saying. I need his support right now more than ever. I want to yell out his name and run into the crowd looking for him, but I veto that idea because I don't want to be noticed.

"Who are you looking for Cambria?" Tivoli's voice sounds slightly mocking.

"Conan." I reply steadily, trying to hide the upset in my voice. "I need to talk to him."

"He's over there, I would go now." Tivoli says before turning and heading for the rope square marked 17.

I dash through the crowd and tap Conan on the shoulder, so thankful for Tivoli's height advantage.

"Good luck." he says as he turns around.

"And may the odd be_ ever_ in your favor." I say, mocking President Snow's voice.

A Peacekeeper grabs my shoulder and escorts me to my rope division, just as Sasha walks onto the stage.

"Welcome to the 98th annual Hunger Games!" Sasha announced enthusiastically. "We are now going to choose which of you wonderful children will represent District 6 as a tribute."

The crowd is silent, every possible tribute frozen with the fear of being thrown into the arena. My heart races as Sasha reaches her hand decorated with powder blue nails, into the glass ball containing my name, printed in black ink.

Everyone holds their breath as her hand emerges with the paper and she takes as breath.

"Cambria Everett" Sasha announces her voice tinged with the choppy Capitol accent.

My heart stops as the image of me standing in the arena fills my head. _Cambria Everett, that's my name. _

I walk towards the stage, my knees wobbling. I can feel every pair of eyes burning into my neck.

"Now for the boys." she says quickly her hand hovering over the glass ball.

I can't get my mind off the boy's name in Sasha's hands.

"Conan Whitman." her words echo off the walls of the Justice Building.

From my place on the stage I can see my best friends face, all of the color drained out, his dark hair stuck to his face with sweat.

"Conan, please take your place next to your fellow tribute on the stage." Sasha chimes.

Before I can make sense of what I just experienced we are whisked away into the Justice Building. The last chance I may ever get to talk to my family.


	2. Chapter 2

2

"Oh Cambria, I'm so sorry." my mom whispers.

Tivoli and Reed are sitting on the chair across from me. Reed is sobbing and I am trying to think of something to say to comfort him.

"Hey Reedy… I- I'll try to win." I stammer, "For you."

"Cambria, you have skills." Tivoli says his face hardened with seriousness. "Use them."

"Like what?" I ask.

"Your fast and strong." he responds. "I've watched you climb trees since you were four, your no match for the Careers in that."

I had completely forgotten about the Careers. They have wrenching strength and they can use every type of weapon imaginable. The victor has been a Career almost every year.

"Will you really try to win?" Reed asked.

"Ye-s" my promise was interrupted by a Peacekeeper.

"Time is up, follow me." the Peacekeeper bellows.

I watch as the door slams shut behind them. I sit in silence until Sasha comes in and escorts me to the train.

Tivoli's advice brought a question to my mind. _What did Garret just say to Conan? What strengths does my best friend have?_

Conan's POV

I had heard stories about the Capitol trains, but I never thought I would get a chance to ride in one. District Six helps build these trains in our factories, and they are just as amazing as the workers say. Being the youngest boy in my family, I am not allowed to work in the factories until I'm older.

"Conan, Cambria!" Sasha called cheerily. "Dinner is ready."

I open up to closet and find hundreds of outfits. I choose the most normal one in the bunch, a plain gray shirt that I slide over my jeans. I managed to slip out of the house today without my mom noticing what I was wearing. Not planning to be broadcasted on live TV.

When I emerged into the hallway I see Cambria already at the table chatting up our mentor, her hands clenched into a concentrated fist.

"Careers are heavy, so they can't climb trees." I overhear her saying to Olin Somerset. "That gives me a big advantage."

"Indeed it does, but they…" he cuts off when I walk into the room. "You must be Conan."

"Yeah, that's me." I reply blankly. "Continue on with your conversation, sorry."

I want to avoid everyone, especially Cambria, because I am about to be thrown into a bloodbath with her.

"You two are the quietest tributes I have ever escorted." Sasha clucked. "Rumor has it you two like each other."

I stop in my tracks, nearly choking on the water I was sipping from the fancy crystal glass.

"Who the heck told you that?" I snap angrily. "I am going to end up killing her and you think we're somehow in love!"

Everything gets dark and I feel like I triggered it by saying this somehow. The cabin is then lit up with a golden glow and my thoughts are drowned out by hollering and clapping. This must be The Capitol.


	3. Chapter 3

3

Cambria's POV

I sit on the cold table in the Remake Center, waiting as Evian and Botch, a clumsy man with large feet and what seems to be rainbow hair, mess with the tangled hair on my head.

"What have you been up to?" Evian asked her violet eyes filled with question "You look like you went through a tussle with a tiger."

"My hair gets really tangled when it's wet." I reply.

She nods as she works through a painful knot. Meanwhile, Botch is filling down and painting my nails with a clear liquid. They are muttering to one another, but too quiet for me to make out what they are saying. Being from District Six, my overall hygiene isn't to be questioned, but often times I would skip a shower to play with Reed and Tivoli outside.

"Leon will be in to see you in a moment." Evian calls back as she flies out of the door on her Zebra- print heels.

Yet again I am left in silence, where my mind has time to wander to unpleasant questions. Luckily this moment doesn't last long.

"Cambria Everett?" he asks, not waiting for a reply from me. "I am Leon, your personal stylist."

"Ok, what is the plan?" I ask, way ahead of him.

"Of course, well…" he pauses. "District Six specializes in transportation, so maybe a silver suit with…"

By now he has a notebook out and is furiously jotting down ideas for the costume, along with what seem to be a drawing of what he is planning for me.

"This." he says, pointing at a picture of a simple silver suit with shimmering blue fire that starts on the legs and encloses the suit in sparkles. "It depicts a hovercraft taking off."

"Let me tell Yolanda." he huffs not waiting for a reply.

I find myself laden with blue and silver before I can blink. Leon is the fastest person I have ever seen. I walk out of the Remake Center with Leon and meet up with Conan and Yolanda at the head of the tribute parade.

"These people are all your possible sponsors, so don't screw this up." Olin says with a wink. "Break a leg."

Conan holds out his hand to me as we mount the chariot, but only out chivalry, his eyes are emotionless. I am already losing my best friend to these horrible games. The silver horses take off as soon as we are on, and I turn back to see Olin and Yolanda waving at us. Leon is consumed in his notebook.

Cheers erupt as the District One chariot pulls out of the heavy iron doors.

"District One, District One!" the crowd hollers as the diamond clad tributes wave regally at the adoring fans, and most likely sponsors.

Two, three, four, and five follow after that, all receiving applause from the odd crowd. Too soon it is District Six's turn, and our chariot emerges into the noise. I manage to glance up at one of the screens, and I see there is more to the costume than I expected. Not only do we sparkle, we look as though our costumes are moving like a hovercraft taking off.

Conan and I remain on the screen for a moment longer and I grab Conan's hand in that time. The crowd claps louder.

Once the circle is filled with chariots, President Snow comes up to the podium and says his opening speech just like I have seen on TV.

"And may the odds be ever in your favor." President Snow announces before returning to his seat behind the podium.

Conan's POV

"Your interviews with Caesar Flickerman are coming up and your stylists will help you prepare." Sasha informs us cheerily.

"Yes, these are very important for sponsors." Olin says matter-of-factly.

Yolanda puts a hand on my back and escorts me to her styling room. I will probably be shoved into a silver tuxedo, because the Capitol people seemed to love that.

"Close your eyes." she says as she rustles around and pulls out a tuxedo just like the one I imagined. "I think it will look great on you, do you like it?"

"I do." I said honestly. "It wasn't as sparkly as the one in my head."

She nods and flashes her overly white smile through her gold lips, as she puts the suit on me.

"Wonderful!" she squeals. "Now give me that opening sentence that will wow the crowd."

I had never been much of a people person. In fact, I remember the day I first met Cambria:

We were walking into school on the first day, well the first day for her, and I ran into her in the hallway. I had never been forced to talk to anyone at school, and I had no friends to speak of, so this was an overwhelming moment.

"Hey watch it!" she hissed, making me cringe. "I'm just kidding."

I backed away, trying to escape this strange girl, but she grabbed my arm.

"Want to be friends?" she asked kindly.

I nodded, and she smiled.

"But first, do you know where my classroom is?" was the last thing I remember about that day…

"I just want to let everyone know, everything in the Capitol smells like roses, if you haven't noticed." I say clearly to Yolanda.

"Humor is a good approach, or you could go with charming." Yolanda replies pleased with my coming up with that.

"Not me, I'll just stick with humor." I immediately veto the charming to save my life.

"Cambria Everett" the man booms. "Come along."

That is almost all I hear of Cambria's interview.

"What can you say about your _moving_ performance at the tribute parade?"

"It's all thanks to Leon, really." Cambria said with ease. "He is the fastest person I have ever met."

"Would we all like to see this wonder of a stylist?" Caesar plays with the crowd. "Leon Osmond, here he is!"

The crowd went wild with applause and shouts to Leon who had no idea he was on the screen. That was all I heard before my nerves took over.

"Conan Whitman." the man called my name and walked me to the wing.

I could hear the crowd clapping, as Caesar prepared to introduce me.

"Ladies and gentlemen put your hands together for District six, Conan." he boomed.

My adrenaline was picking up as I realized I was supposed to go on.

"So Conan, what would you like to say to all of your adoring fans in the audience?" Caesar asked me when I sat down.

_Adoring fans?_

"Well, I'd just like to let everyone know that everything in the Capitol smells like roses," I say playfully, "If you haven't noticed from living here of course."

"Indeed it does, indeed it does." he says. "I worship those tributes who can stand it."

"Yeah, I would agree with you." I say sniffing myself and gagging.

"Well then, I hear came here with a_ close_ friend." his emphasis on close made me want to punch him.

"Cambria, yeah, we're friends." I mutter. "It stinks that we got picked together."

He nods sympathetically and pats my back, as the audience joins in a chorus of sad agreement.

"Are you as impressed with Leon as Cambria, may I ask?" he prods me.

"Definitely, the costumes we're impressive." I say with a wave in Leon's direction. "I'll give kudos to the quick thinker."

My statement arouses more noise and laughter from the crowd.

"Thank you for your time Conan and we will all miss your presence." he says as he stands me up and pats my back, signaling me to walk off.

I turn back and wave one more time to the cameras and the crowd. That took all of my energy for today.


	4. Chapter 4

4

Cambria's POV

"Great job you two." Sasha squeals. "The audience just loved you Conan."

"They better have, that took all of my energy." I hear Conan say weakly.

Breakfast is on the table and it makes my mouth water just looking at it. Even in District six food wasn't nearly this nice.

"Today is the beginning of training, and you have to practice everything." Olin starts. "I don't care if you make snares for a living, do it."

"I'm going straight to Survival Skills." I say positively.

Having never tried to survive in the wilderness other than the occasional camp out with Conan and Garret, I am going to need all of the survival skills I can get.

"And remember don't show all of your best skills until your private." Olin says strongly. "The Careers will use you as a weapon if they see all of your skills."

The thought of this made me absolutely sure I would not do hand to hand combat in the Training Center.

The Training Center is a huge, bright room full of weapons and agility courses and stations with camouflage. All of the tributes are in red and black suits with our district number on the back. Seneca Crane, the head Gamemaker is sitting in a balcony room with a buffet that overlooks the Training Center.

"The Training Center is designed to help tributes train in survival, and be prepared to fight to the death." … says "There will be no fighting with other tributes, there will be plenty of time for that later on."

With that, we are dismissed into our session. I run strait to the climbing course to strengthen my arms for the climbs that will most likely save my life in the arena.

I can feel the eyes of the Careers burning into my neck as I make my way up the ladder.

"She's ok." I hear the boy from District One say. "Maybe she won't be our first kill."

"Yeah, but can she run?" the girl from District Two asks.

At the top I swing down nimbly and land hard on the mat below, wobbling slightly before I regain my balance. I turn my head to flash a grin at the Careers but they have moved on to slicing the heads off the dummies.

"I told Olin I would go to Survival Skills first." I groan.

So I sprint over to the edible plants station and try my skills, which turn out to be almost none.

"Maybe you should work on that before you poison yourself." a voice mocks behind me.

The girl from eight is standing behind me with her arms crossed and a look of disapproval on her face.

"Isn't that the point of this station?" I mutter as I walk away to snares.

Maybe if I could catch food I would make it through my first day without killing myself, since I can't exactly shoot. The girl at the station was watching me work a simple snare. Eventually I moved onto more complicated knots, and I was certain I could at least catch a rabbit.

I spot Conan over at the agility course dodging everything that the trainers are throwing, while making his way up the spaced out steps. As well as I know my best friend, there are things he might have forgotten to tell me that he can do. Conan will be a tough competitor in the games.

Conan's POV

Two days of training have passed and I have mastered the agility course, learned how to make a snare, and strengthened my hand-to-hand combat skills. If it comes to fighting the Careers my skills will falter, but any other tribute would be an easy match.

I sit at the breakfast table across from Cambria and listen to Olin's daily preparation speech.

"As you know, today is the day you will have your private with the Gamemakers." I hear Olin say out of one ear. "You will be awarded a score that may or may not secure sponsors for you."

"One to twelve and anywhere between a seven and a twelve is sponsor material." Cambria says.

She has been listening harder to Olin than I have. Olin advised me to start in Survival Skills in the Training Center, but I did the agility course instead. I plan to work my edible plants and fire starting skills in the time we have today, since I have worked a lot with Garret on our camp outs. My mom said many times back home that I tend to tune certain people out and make my own decisions.

"Conan, what are you going to show the Gamemakers in your private?" Olin asked pointedly.

"I am going to throw knives at the targets." I state my plan slowly, still thinking it over, "targets have always been my strong suit."

There was no response, only a nod. Cambria is obviously Olin's favorite and I know why.

Cambria's POV

_Cambria Everett_

My turn with the Gamemakers is up and my score will make or break my sponsors.

When I emerge into the room I walk strait to the ladder and start my climb to the top. The Gamemakers, still relatively focused, watch my ascent closely. I catch onto one of their conversations:

"Not many tributes go for that every year." one of the people said.

"No, it's tough, she's a climber." Seneca responds quietly.

They clap in unison when I swing down from the top and land on the mat. Only a few weren't watching so I let it slide and take a bow, waiting to be dismissed.

"Thank you District Six." Seneca announces.

I walk back into the waiting room and wait until Conan's name is called, watching the six on his back reflect the light. Our friendship is slipping away, but his attitude toward all of this hasn't stopped impressing me.

"How did your sessions go?" Sasha asks.

"I climbed the rope ladder and landed on the mat." I start. "They clapped…"

"I watched her in the Training Center, she's better than everyone." Conan mutters.

"Great, how did you do Conan?" she asks as enthusiastically as ever.

"I hit the human target with a sword." Conan says, "Seneca seemed pleased."

I zoned out of the conversation about what Sasha thought Conan's score might be, and began to think about the look in his eyes on the day of the tribute parade. There is something behind those always caring hazel eyes, but I can't put my finger on it.

Conan's POV

It is time to see all of the tributes' score and me, Cambria, Sasha, Olin, Leon, and Yolanda gathered in front of the flat screen TV. Leon has his head in his notebook as usual and Sasha is pacing back and forth in her heels. She gets worked up over everything, I mean how important could a number really be to you?

"And now for the overall scores from each tribute's progress over the past week." Caesar says with a flash of his overly white teeth.

"From District One, Inferno, with a score of 10… 9… 10… 8…" Caesar started.

"District six, Conan, with a score of… 9." Caesar's words echoed off of my head.

"Oh Conan, wonderful job!" Sasha squeals

"That's sponsor material." Olin congratulates me. "We can work with that."

Yolanda smiled as she sipped her blue drink.

"And Cambria, with a score of 10," Caesar says with a grin.

I didn't hear the rest of the scores because of the noise and talking.

"You scored higher than me." I managed to say before retiring to my room.

The games start tomorrow and I have to pick up my game to face the challenges of the arena. I'll make sure that the victor this year isn't a Career.


	5. Chapter 5

_Cambria's POV_

Having not slept a wink last night, I decide to skip breakfast and try to wake myself up. The start of the games is the most important part, and if I fall asleep at the Cornucopia I won't live to wake up again. Just as Olin said, the Careers will probably use me to kill Conan before the hovercraft picks up my body. The thought of this sends me straight into the bathroom to splash cold water on my face and then go get some coffee.

When I get down there I find a dark-eyed Sasha with her head resting on the table.

"What's going on here?" I ask Conan who is picking at a bread roll. "Is Sasha alright?"

"Cambria, it's about time." Olin snaps. "We have been waiting for you to talk about your survival plan."

"Oh, sorry I didn't sleep at all last night." I manage through a yawn. "I know what I am going to do already."

"Well alright then, would you like to share with us?" his tone was getting to me, Olin wasn't usually like this.

"I'm going to grab at least one thing farther from the Cornucopia and run to the trees." I say. "That way I can climb and get away from the other tributes until the bloodbath is over."

"The Cornucopia is a dangerous place, are you sure about this?" Olin asks, still using the sickening tone.

"Yes, I'll grab whatever I see first and run." I say confidently.

Olin's mood hadn't let up and there was no response, so I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down in one of the chairs. It seemed like I wasn't the only one upset by the Hunger Games.

I walked to the elevator on the sixth floor with Leon, who would escort me to the hovercraft.

"I have listened to everything you have done, don't worry." Leon said hesitantly.

That was the most I have ever heard come out of Leon's mouth.

"Thank you for everything." I said with a smile, and I surprised him with a hug that he eventually returned.

"Good Luck Cambria." he said before turning away from me.

I noticed the movement of the hovercraft that so much matched that of my costume for the parade. Even if I'm not the best in the arena I have my moving reputation to back me up. All thanks to Leon's quick brilliance.

"Give me your arm." the lady in the white suit with magenta hair said.

She sticks a needle into my arm and I go into overload.

"What's going on?" I ask shakily.

"We wouldn't want to lose a tribute, would we." is all she says, and I realized it must be a tracker.

Avan, the girl from two is laughing at my panic attack.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it six." she says sympathetically.

Before I can formulate a response the windows darken, this is so we can't see where or what we are about to face in less than twenty minutes. That would give us an advantage and make the games less interesting for the Capitol. Conan is a few seats down and I see his fists clenched in his lap, if he has any emotion towards all of this, he is hiding it well.

I feel the presence of two Peacekeepers behind me, guiding me to the Launch Room. If I flinch right now they will have both of my arms before I can move an inch.

My launch room is brand new, because the arenas are only used once. All of a sudden I am swallowed in fear, in less than five minutes I will be standing in feet from the Cornucopia, surrounded in whatever the Capitol throws at me. I am aware of my body shaking as Leon approaches me with my costume for the arena.

Leon puts a hand on my back and silently instructs me to put on the plastic looking pants and shirt. This might be the weirdest outfit I have seen a tribute wear in the Hunger Games, but I can't bring myself to words.

"You'll need these, I've heard." Leon says as he hands me a pair of sunglasses.

I manage a shaky nod and put the sunglasses on, trying to tell myself to calm the heck down. The start of the Hunger Games determines the strongest tributes, and the ones that won't be in the sky after the bloodbath.

_Two minutes remaining_

"Remember, you're the only tribute that has been that close to flying Cambria." he says kindly

One night has changed this strange man into a better mentor than Olin.

"Yeah, thanks Leon." I say before the voice comes back.

_One minute remaining._

I hug Leon one last time and make my way over to the platform.

There is a jolt and I feel the ground moving up, I see a last glimpse of Leon, consumed in his notebook yet again, but that image only lasts a second before I am blinded in light. The glasses are doing little to shield my eyes from the dancing light surrounding me.

_Fire, is everything on fire?_


	6. Chapter 6

6

Cambria's POV

There are 20 feet of sand between me and the Cornucopia, every inch will blow you into the sky before the 60 seconds is up. I spot Conan on the other side of the Cornucopia, sweats dripping down his face just like the day our names were drawn at the reaping, and his fists are clenched at his side. I am fully aware of the ticking down clock and I am beginning to doubt myself.

12… 11… 10

My adrenaline is racing and my vision is blurring like a watercolor painting. Out of the corner of my eye I see the boy from 10 fall to his knees; I brace myself for the explosion to follow. Pieces of the dry dirt and sand rain down on our heads as three of the mines explode; my body is nearly thrown from my plate, along with all of the other tributes.

5… 4… 3… 2… 1

Conan's POV

The gong sounds and I take off into the Cornucopia, trudging through the hot, dry mass of sand underfoot. With my movement being as slow as it is I am liable to be surrounded by Careers before I can blink, if only I could find some sort of weapon. If I fall now there won't be any getting up.

I spot a glint of sunlight through the white sand, something sharp that I could use if I could just reach it. But the wind is knocked out of me and I can taste blood, the whole right side of my face is covered in the gore, the blood of the tribute that's body is pinning my leg down. Cambria has picked up some sort of pack and is making for the cluster of trees in one section of the arena, she is safe for now, but my leg is throbbing under the weight of the boy.

"Oh look, two in one Inferno." the girl from one says. "Do you have any last words six; do you know where your girlfriend is?"

Unable to speak under the pressure, I wheeze and thrash my hand out into the sand, grabbing the knife by the tip and slitting my thumb.

"Run." I say before thrusting the knife into Inferno's leg, just enough to inflict pain.

He grabs at his leg and takes off into the forest, followed by the girl from one and two. I was lucky this time, so I use this extra second to heave the body off of my leg and make for the rocks for shelter, but when I stand up my leg gives way and I end up dragging myself into the tangle of bushes just feet from the Cornucopia. I will work on finding the essentials when I gain strength in my leg tomorrow, but for tonight I am certain no one will come back to the sight of the bloodbath.

Cambria's POV

When I reach what I thought to be a forest, I find a mass of rubber- looking trees laden in bright red fruits. Of course, nothing more than a tree genetically engineered by the Capitol trying to tempt us to our deaths. No matter how much weight I lose there will be no climbing this tree for safety.

"There goes one option." I mutter as I circle the clearing for shelter.

I am going to have to find a hiding spot until I can move to the other cluster of trees on the opposite side of the arena, so I decide to camouflage myself into a cluster of bushes and look through the handful of stuff I dug up at the edge of the arena.

My thoughts are broken by the canon blasts announcing the outcome at the Cornucopia.

"Six blasts." I think to myself. "One for the boy from ten, and the others I will see in the sky tonight.

I ended up with a strange fruit, an axe, a jacket that is about as strange as the shirt I'm wearing, and a small pack with a coil in it. A lot for my quick pick up, but nothing that serves of much use for me as it is. I am skeptical about the fruit that seems to be filled with liquid, but the coil could be used for snares to catch food. My tread is light on the mossy ground and there is still enough light, so I decide to set a snare in some concealed bushes and check it again in the morning.

The Gamemakers haven't made an effort to warm the arena up and making a fire is great if I want the woods alive with assailants, so I dig a ditch underneath the bushes, cover myself in leaves and moss that I peeled off of a tree, and put on the black jacket. Past tributes and victors have used this technique when they weren't lucky enough to snag a sleeping from the Cornucopia.

I lay awake listening for the anthem to see if Conan is still ok. Eventually it starts and the seal appears in the sky along with the pictures of the fallen tributes. Ten, eight, five, eleven, three, three are the pictures that flashed across the lonely black sky. Conan is still out there somewhere, and that is enough for me. The anthem plays a second time and I drift off.

The sound of footsteps nearby jolts me awake. I fumble around my pack for my axe and wait, all of my senses alert for danger.

"I could have sworn that girl from six went this way." a familiar voice says.

"She's could really help us, you can't be wro…" a male voice responds

"Don't mock me you idiot, my senses don't lead me wrong, she went this way." the girl snaps back.

I peer through the crack in the brush, careful not to move a muscle, and spot a slender, girl with saffron colored hair walking next to a bulky… Career. The boy, for sure, is a Career, but the girl seems too fragile to be raised in fighting.

"Where is she Saffra?" the boy asks sharply.

"I told you she went this way." she growls.

At that second my hand falls backward and lands on a twig that snaps under my weight. Both of the tributes eyes dart over to my cluster of bushes.

"Hey six." the girl calls in my direction. "Truce, ok."

I grab my pack and jump through the cluster of bushes, breaking into a sprint to escape the attackers.

"Wait up, we said truce!" the boy calls behind me, panting to keep up with me. "I can prove it, just stop."

Without warning my legs come to a halt and I whip around to face my pursuers, my axe clenched in my sweaty palm.

"We want you as an alliance… I watched you in the arena, you could help us." the boy pleads, his voice cracking from the sharp breaths

I notice a fleck of truth in his eyes, so I let the axe fall from my fingers and throw my hands up.

"Prove it." I growl.

"We are trying to take down the Careers, I have never believed in the way that we were trained in District One and Two, so I am trying to ensure the victor isn't a Career." he says slowly. "I'll tell you all the information I know about them if you promise not to kill us."

I nod to secure my truce and the three of us begin to walk back towards the clearing.

"I'm Kodiak and this is Saffra." Kodiak says.

"Yeah, I've met her." I say with an edge of disgust. "I haven't killed myself yet, eight."

"So I see, I guess you learned something in the Training Center." she says matching my tone. "I see you haven't sampled any Nightlock yet."

"No, and I avoided the red fruit on the rubber tree as well." I say with a growl.

Kodiak throws his hands up and pushes us out from each other's faces.

"Cut it out or I'll kill both you of you." he snaps. "You'll end up walking into the Careers camp if you're not careful."

"How's your boyfriend?" Saffra asks mockingly. "Conan, I missed the anthem last night."

"So tell me Kodiak, how did you find this dimwit?" I swing around to face him, "And when can I kill her?"

Without a word he moves in between us and cracks his knuckles.

"You realize this is all being broadcasted to all of Panem, and none of us have any sponsors to speak of, so maybe you two could at least act like you don't want to kill each other, ok." he says quietly.

"Check… truce Cambria." Saffra says under her breath but with a smile.

"Ok, truce." I say extending my arm to Saffra.

We shake on it and she picks up a pebble and tosses it at my head, I return the hit and we both laugh, for real.

"Your strength is climbing right Cambria?" he asks calmly. "We can make it to the grove of oaks before nightfall and set up camp there."

"Yeah, I was thinking about that last night." I reply.

"I'll take watch." Saffra chimes. "I can't sleep in a tree and I'm not going start here."

We all smile at that comment and start off into the rocks that border the clearing. I hear a canon blast that announces the death of another tribute. All of my senses are alert for noises as we walk, but with Saffra in the lead, nothing will get to us.


	7. Chapter 7

7

Conan's POV

I haven't regained the use of my leg yet, and my outlook doesn't look too good.

Having stayed unnoticed in the bushes for the whole day, I have been able to watch the Careers' bloodthirsty prowl. Inferno's leg is virtually healed because of medicine from a sponsor that came right away. The bush that I took refuge under is full of sweet berries that I determined to be edible, but a gradual side effect of the juice is a headache that has kept me in a blurry daze the most of this morning. But I have been able to work out the arena.

In one 'section' there are a bunch of rocks with pools of water in between them, safe in the morning, but deadly at night. At the second it hits nightfall a poisonous fog rises from the pools of water and engulfs the air in thick smog, something else lovingly crafted by the Capitol to kill us off. I can't help but think about Cambria, the thought that that cannon I heard could have been her doesn't bother me as much as I imagined it would.

_ Cambria's POV_

"They're after me now," Kodiak says from the branch below me, "And they want blood."

"So does the Capitol, and they're not going to stop without it." I respond. "The death toll is lower than other Hunger Games, only six died on the first day."

"Then let's let them find us." Saffra groans from her perch above me.

I know she is in a lot of pain from the accident she had on our way here. She got tangled up on in a leftover snare, leaving gashes in her arms and legs. I'm fine as it is, with only a few scrapes from the thorn bushes we went through in order to get her safely, and that means away from the Careers.

"The Gamemakers are going to push us together at some point." I continue, "With god knows what, but they won't stop until we're face to face with the Careers, or another tribute."

"Yeah, there hasn't been enough fighting that I have seen." Kodiak replies.

"Sixteen of us left, I watched the sky last night." Saffra says, followed by a cry of pain.

I shoot my glance down to the floor below and a boy is tossing tiny, razor sharp objects at us. One hits me and lodges in my shoulder blade, I let out a cry as my hand slips from the branch and I plummet down to the floor below. A wail breaks out when I land, not from me, but from the boy that lays broken under my weight, my first kill, but it wasn't really me. Pain claims my back as I roll off of the small boy from ten. A cannon blast follows and I drag myself behind the tree, away from the hovercraft. Everything is silent following that until a quiet shout emerges from the tree.

"Make that fifteen." Saffra calls quietly from the tree.

I watch as she twists her body painfully down from the trunk, clinging to the rough bark. Kodiak attempts to follow her but his weight takes over and he falls onto the mossy ground in my footsteps. I feel around my back for the strange object that inflicted so much pain, but when I find it there is a fresh layer of skin keeping where it hit.

"How did he get ahold of those?" Kodiak asks from the ground.

"What are they?" I ask hesitantly.

"Capitol designed microchips that act as ticks, and imbed into your skin, causing intense pain until you get them out." he replies.

I keep forgetting he is from District Two and knows about every type of weapon that has ever been used. This thing is going to be in my back until I can take it out… with what? Well, until then we are going to need food, so I decide to check my snares that I set last night before climbing into the tree.

"I'm going to check the snares." I call behind me.

"I'll come with." Saffra calls back. "I'm going to see if I can find some water to wash these cuts in."

I don't respond to this, but I nod as I take off deeper into the woods to the place where I set the snares.

When I get there I find an odd looking rabbit that would make an ok breakfast for the three of us. Saffra is nowhere to be found so I suspect she found a stream to wash her wounds in. This really has been the quietest stretch of days in the history of the Hunger Games. No Careers, no Capitol attacks, and not much blood to speak of, it's just too quiet to be normal.

_Conan's POV_

My luck runs out by sunset. The Careers are angry, and I am in no state to fight with my leg only partially useable, but that doesn't stop the Gamemakers. My being so close to the Careers' camp has been worrying me, and preventing my escape for two days now. I have become immune to the effect of the berries, since they are the only thing I have to eat because of my bad state.

I fell a searing on my arm and I look up at the sky, only to see a cloud of the deadly fog curling over my head. It was the fog from the rocks that I spotted before, and it was set out to push us together, the ones that are left.


	8. Chapter 8

8

I jump up and stumble over myself to escape the curling fingers of the fog that are spitting acid, but that just conceals what's behind it. A giant wave of red, 20 feet tall is thundering down behind the fingers of fog.

How on earth?

Everything is moving in and out of focus as I make my way as fast as I can away from the wave and the searing drops on my skin. I burst through the tangle of bushes and roll out into the sand of the Cornucopia, darting my eyes around for Careers, just to see everything else untouched.

The Capitol targeted me… only me.

I heave off of the ground and sprint into the sand as the red wave crashes down behind me, splattering me in the sweet- smelling liquid. I stick a finger into the stuff and lick it off. Of course, berry juice from the berries near the bush I took refuge under. A wave of berry juice, that's a first for the Capitol attacks.

"Well, isn't that a first for the Capitol." Inferno growls, "At least it will cover up your blood when I finish with you."

My body goes into panic and I spring off of the ground, hearing the Careers chasing after me. There is a zing, and an arrow hits my neck. The pain is unbearable and I fall into a heap onto the ground, wrapping a hand around my neck to slow the bleeding.

"Oh god Avan, this is berry juice!" the girl from one screams. "It'll kill you."

"Don't stop for me you fool, catch six and get my arrow back." Avan shouts back.

Cambria's POV

A sweet smell hits my nose from my spot on the moss. Kodiak and Saffra notice it too, and they are sniffing around.

"I'm gonna go take a look." I say as I start to climb the tree, ignoring the pain in my shoulder.

When I get to the highest perch I look out onto the feet of glowing sand dotted with blood. Darting my eyes back and forth, I see a giant pool of deep red liquid with the Careers a few feet away yelling at each other. Saffra had joined me, unnoticed, and was pointing at something else. I followed her finger to the figure, and I immediately recognized Conan. He must have been escaping the Careers, but why would he have been anywhere near them.

"It was a Capitol attack." Saffra answered my question. "I think its berry juice that we smell, so maybe that's what the red stuff is."

"Good, it's not blood." I reply.

"Yeah *cough* no one has that much blood in their body…" she responds, "or so I've heard."

I throw a punch at her shoulder, just so she can feel my disapproval, and turn back to the scene at hand. Conan is gone from the scene and Avan, who looks to have puffed up, is yelling and kicking up dust around her. She turns on the smaller girl and knocks her fist across the girl's face, sending her down in a fit of blood and yelps. Avan kicks the body violently and shouts something at the other Career before grabbing a bow and arrow which she shoots the helpless body with, a knife, and a spear. A cannon blast marks the girl from one's death, and Avan sprints off into the woods with Inferno at her heels.

I follow Saffra down the tree, and we are met with questions.

"Who was that for, what happened?" Kodiak asks.

"The Careers are killing each other off." I respond. "Avan's mad, and on the verge of insane."

"Yeah, I knew it was a matter of time with that unstable group." he says distantly.

Saffra rolls her eyes at Kodiak's attempt at a heartfelt sentence, and grabs onto her stomach.

"Am I the only one that's starving?" she grumbles.

"No." I say as I walk towards the snares and the bush full of nuts that Saffra said were edible. "Let's cook the…"

There it is, by the snare, a rabbit frozen solid. I walk over and knock on it with my fist. Hard as a rock.

"Guys, you might want to look at this." I call into the clearing.

Kodiak and Saffra run wide-eyed into the bush cove and see the frozen rabbit, just as I'm about to say something, Kodiak points up to the tree at the frozen bird and the frozen squirrel.

"Geez, that's not right." Saffra comments as she brings her hand to her forehead. "What the heck happened to them?"

"Maybe it's the Gamemakers, they could have frozen all of the animals." the thought came to my head and I had to say it.

"There goes dinner then." Saffra groans as she starts up the tree, letting out sharp cries of pain as she ascends, "how wonderful Gamemakers, thank you."

I decide to pick a few nuts to take the edge off, I've never been able to sleep on an empty stomach, and I haven't eaten since this morning. Kodiak leans on the tree next to me as we crunch on the dry, tasteless nuts. His gray eyes are distant, and I figure now isn't a good time to ask about his affiliation with the Careers. It is amazing how long we have gone virtually unharmed in this arena. Nothing more than a few scratches and the occasional tick- chip thingy embedded in our skin.

"It's been quiet Kodiak, too quiet." I say drowsily.

He nods his approval and leans his head back on the tree trunk. I watch as the seal appears in the sky and the anthem plays. Only the girl from one died today. A beeping noise interrupts my thoughts and I spot a parachute floating down from the sky. I catch it and open it up, revealing a note from Olin.

Nice job on alliances. –Olin

Inside are a tiny pair of tweezers and a pack of salted nuts. I have no idea what the tweezers are for, but leave it up to Olin to make a joke out of our misery by sending salted nuts.

"It's just too quite." I manage before I drift off.

I wake up on the mossy ground with the parachute from last night next to me, Kodiak is still sound asleep so I shove the nuts in front of his face and his eyes flutter open.

"Food with a flavor?" he asks halfheartedly.

"Yeah, Olin sent salted nuts last night," I start, "along with these."

I pull out the tweezers and show them to Kodiak, whose eyes light up.

"How is your arm doing?" he asks.

"It still really hurts, why?" I hesitate.

"These tweezers will get that thing… out of your arm so the pain will go away." he says through a yawn.

I wave up at the sky to where I hope Olin will be watching.

"Thanks Olin, and very funny." I shout at one of the cameras.

Saffra stirs at my comment and climbs down from the tree with puffy eyes. She is immediately grumpy when she reaches the ground and chucks the parachute at my head.

"What part of don't wake me up unless the tree is on fire don't you get?" she growls through clinched teeth.

"Whatever, let's get a move on so we can launch our plan of attack." Kodiak calls over his shoulder.

Saffra and I stare at him blankly.

"What plan of attack, exactly?" Saffra snaps.

"Right, well then, let's start planning." he says sheepishly.

Just then there is a cannon blast followed by chorus of shouts.

"Ok guys, so here's the plan." Kodiak announces. "Inferno is strong, but not fast, so if we can beat him, we can easily bring him down."

"Avan, she's fast, strong, and from what you said insane, so possibly a harder target." "Guys, this is our chance, they are weaker now than ever before, we need to strike while the iron's hot."

"Yes, but I don't think it's the right time," I begin, "we have to catch them when they're in their camp, so they're unguarded."

"How many of us are left Saffra?" Kodiak asks distractedly.

"Maybe twelve or thirteen, but I'm not sure." she says.

"I suggest we wait until the Careers are more confident, they're on the prowl now, but when there are less of us left they'll let their guard down."

"You know more about the Careers than I do, I'm glad we picked you up Cam." Kodiak says with a grin.

This plan isn't going to come easily, and I'm not sure I can face up to the Careers when the time comes. Avan is on a blood prowl. My thoughts are interrupted by an announcement form Claudius Templesmith.

"Attention tributes, we have generously restocked the Cornucopia with a few supplies you might need. I suppose you could consider this a feast. That will be all."

All three of us look at each other with a shared facial expression. This is the time to attack, _after the feast._


	9. Chapter 9

9

We pass one frozen animal after another as we make our way, quietly as possible, to a perch near the Cornucopia. Having planned this attack since the announcement last night, we are about to attempt to kill Avan and Inferno.

"After the feast starts, we attack." Kodiak starts. "They will be busy pursing the desperate tributes, so we have a better chance at getting at them."

"Don't forget the supplies; I haven't eaten food with a taste since those nuts." Saffra adds.

"Saffra, you can run into the Cornucopia and grab some food and weapons for us right before we attack." Kodiak says with an eye roll. "And Cambria, will you come and attack with me?"

"Yeah, sounds good." I say with a wink at Saffra. "Pick up some more salted nuts, k?"

She punches my shoulder and I stick my tongue out at her. We aren't the best of friends, but a simple alliance is enough for me. Yelling breaks out as the sky gets lighter. The feast has started, and that means so have we.

"Go now." Kodiak hisses as we slink down the rocky hill side in the bushes.

Of course, more thorn bushes for us to walk through, meaning more puffy scars from the stinging tips. The ground is really unstable, and my biggest fear now is losing my footing and falling down this hillside headfirst. Right then my foot falls loose and I fall forward, but my arm is jerked back and I am in Kodiak's arms before I can fall a foot.

"Ok, maybe this wasn't the best idea." he says as he sets me back down.

"Um, thanks for that." I smile weakly into his gray eyes.

A smile plays at the corner of his mouth as he nods his head. I have to keep telling myself this will never work out, but I can't help liking him a little.

"Snap out of it lovebirds, we have a mission to launch and it's not getting any earlier." Saffra snaps as she pushes angrily through a thorn bush with a cry of pain.

I can see the Cornucopia clearly now. Only the Careers have approached the restocked supply pile and are picking through it with hungry eyes. The shadows have still swallowed most of the arena, making it hard to see any approaching tributes.

"Saffra you run now to the Cornucopia and be careful, we'll follow you down." Kodiak says as he starts forward in a run.

She nods her approval and breaks into a sprint towards the Cornucopia. Out of the corner of my eye I spot Conan who is also sprinting to the Cornucopia. Kodiak takes the axe from my hands and approaches the Careers from behind, I follow close behind him. Inferno is unarmed, but Avan has a bow and arrow clenched in her hand.

Inferno whips around to face Kodiak, his eyes are burning with amber and red sparks.

_Inferno._

"Kodiak, nice of you to return." he growls as he thrusts his hands onto Kodiak's neck, unaware of the axe at his side.

At that second a cannon blast shakes the arena. I turn to the sound of a yelp, just as Saffra falls to her knees with a knife in her hand. I watch in horror as Conan runs and pries the weapon from my ally's tight grip.

"Why?" I ask in disbelief.

He looks up at me, and I hold his stare for one second. I notice the gash in his neck and the pain in his gaze.

Apology, I saw apology behind those hardened eyes.

And with that, he takes off into the bushes with a handful of food that he snagged in the commotion. Kodiak is blue in the face from Inferno's grip, but in that second's hesitation from Inferno he cuts his side with the axe and Inferno too falls to his knees. Another canon blast to mark his death and we take off into the woods, Kodiak behind me with the stuff Saffra picked up before 'it' happened.

Conan's POV

My knife found its mark, the girl with the saffron hair. Cambria's eyes told me I did something wrong, but from the times that the three of them walked by my camp in the bush I could see Cambria didn't like that girl. I'll never forgive myself for killing someone, even if it's for TV, murder is wrong, no matter the context.

I did manage to get some food though; I wasn't going to stop at anything to get it because I am starved. A cooked chicken, some strange purple fruit that tasted too good to be true, some crackers, and a water bottle that I filled up along the way to clean the arrow wound. I got one parachute for surviving the injury; it was medicine to stop the pain and infection and it worked pretty well.

I actually have a shot at winning now with only one Career left besides the one with Cambria, the boy from four, both from seven, and both from twelve for all I know. That makes nine left. Another canon blast, it gets crazy at eight.


	10. Chapter 10

10

Cambria's POV

That last cannon blast is still echoing in my head. I have no idea if Conan is still alive, much less in good shape, but other things are on my mind at the moment. My eyes are constantly darting around, looking for Saffra to emerge from the bushes or walk up behind me. Kodiak is planning Conan's death in his head, and I can see the look of fury in his eyes.

"You're not going to listen to me if I try to talk you out of this are you?" I stare him head on as I say this.

"Conan is a monster, just like I strived not to be my entire life." Kodiak growls, "There's no way to stop me now."

Kodiak stabs the spear he was carrying into the ground, and I stop in my tracks. I'm frozen with hurt and fear, fear that somehow my best friend was going to get killed by the boy that saved my life more than once. He looks back at me and everything blacks out.

I wake up on the mossy spot underneath the tree and my face is crusted in blood.

"How long has it been since you drank water, Cambria?" Kodiak asks sharply.

"What?" I manage through the blur in my head.

I look up to see a bottle full of water in front of my face, and I shakily grab it from Kodiak's hands, spilling a little on myself trying to drink. Once I've swallowed most of it, he takes it from me and puts some on my forehead were the stinging gash is. I wince, but say nothing.

Before I can even open my mouth to ask anything, he answers all of my questions.

"You fainted from the heat and dehydration, Conan is still alive, and only three people were in the sky last night." he says in a cooler tone.

"Are you alright?" I ask more clearly now.

"I'm fine, but you could do with some medical help." he says with a reasonably serious face.

I pull myself into a sitting position on the tree and turn to face him, steadying myself from the swaying.

"What else did I miss?" I decide to ask this so he'll tell me what I missed when I blacked out.

"The boy from seven was barreling through the brush fully armed when I was hauling you back to the camp, and I would have gotten both of us killed if I had waited a second longer." he fills me in with a smile.

"Armed with what?" I ask.

"He came bearing a dagger and an axe." he replied slowly.

I just nod and stop asking questions because he looks peeved at me and furious at Conan and the Gamemakers.

Just then I feel it, the intense heat that seems to be surrounding me and forcing me to get up and run. A cry of agony tears through the forest as the boy from seven darts passed us, black plastic shirt burning up.

"The arena force field is moving inwards, we have to get a move on!" Kodiak shouts as he heaves me off of the ground. "Can you run?"

I start running and I can feel myself about to fall, but I regain my balance.

"Yes, come on." I call back.

I can feel my feet pounding on the ground and I can hear it thundering inside my head, but I'm not going to let the dizziness stop me from escaping the force field. I realize that the Gamemakers are going to push all of the remaining tributes into the center of the arena and for us to fight. They want to end these games with the most blood, just to make up for the easy beginning. I look back and see Kodiak running steadily behind me, although the image is blurry, I can make out a trail of blood on his leg.

"Kodiak, look at your leg!" I shout over the pounding in my head and the noise that is bursting from every seam of the arena.

"My arrow wound opened!" he shouts back

Of course, why didn't I think of that? Avan had a bow and arrow during the feast and she shot it at him as we were escaping. Kodiak's eyes are stormy as we both barrel down the rocky hillside to escape the force field, and he has started to limp heavily.

At some point during the Games a rockslide must've happened because the large rocks we climbed down during the feast have reduced into gravel that makes for horrible footing. I watch in horror as Kodiak's bad leg slides out from under him and he begins to fall down the hill, followed canon blast.

"Kodiak, oh my g—" I manage before I too slip and land hard on my back on the rocks.

A sharp pain is flowing up my spine as I slide down the rocks and try to keep myself from screaming out in pain and letting any other tribute know I am weak. At that second the force field comes to a halt, and all I can hear are the scattering of rocks on the hillside. My face hits the ground and I breathe in and swallow at least a tablespoon of dry, scorching sand. I begin to cough uncontrollably and spit out sand and blood from my no doubt broken nose.

"Cambria, are you ok?" Kodiak's raspy voice emerges from somewhere in near me.

"I think—you?" I manage through a cough.

But there was no reply. I look up and scan the arena through blurry eyes and I see Kodiak limping toward Conan with my axe.

"Kodiak, no!" I screech, expecting all eyes to turn towards me, but not one of the remaining tributes is focused on anything but themselves.

Conan's POV

The force field had moved in on me faster than I could react and I got burned really badly. After the Capitol sprung an attack on just me, and the remaining Careers were hot on my trail I decided to run as far as I could away from them. My new campsite was set up just feet from the force field. Now I'm lying in the blazing "sun" of the arena most likely awaiting my death. Only a few tributes have emerged from hiding or stood up out of the blazing sand to scope out the situation, and I have no idea where the remaining Careers are.

"Alright Conan, time's up." Kodiak snarls from behind me. "Did you always strive to be a Career trained in killing, huh? Because your plan's been figured out, you deserve to have your blood spilled in this arena!"

His eyes are gleaming as he spits in my faces and closes he grip on the axe in his hand. I spring off of the ground with a wave of immense pain from the raw burns covering my body. I am unarmed and completely unprepared to fight this 6-foot-tall, bulky Career towering over me.

"Is that what you believe, the Career preparing to kill me as I speak?" I spit back in his face.

I grab his arm and twist it backwards, preparing to use all of the combat skills I learned in the Training Center right now. He returns the blow with a hard punch across my face, nearly knocking the sense out of me.

"Kodiak stop, this isn't the boy who saved my life, you aren't meant to do this!" Cambria yells from a few feet away.

Her nose is badly injured and bleeding heavily. She runs toward me and tries to pry the axe from Kodiak's hand with hurt in her eyes. Without notice, he sends the axe into Cambria's arm and she yelps and trips backward into the sand. Kodiak turns on me again and shoves me roughly into the sand.

"You're just like Inferno, in fact, you're worse than Inferno." I snarl sharply.

"All of this coming from the boy who murdered my ally with no regret in your pathetic—little—body." He growls through his teeth as he kicks at me.

"Kodiak, that's impressive." Avan chimes in, and I realize she's been watching all of this time. "It's too bad you won't get to win the 98th Hunger Games and teach those skills to the next District Two tribute. They're just dropping like flies from suffocation, force fields, other tributes and, of course, me."

Kodiak lets me down and turns around just in time to see the arrow headed straight for his chest. It makes contact and he falls to his knees without a sound.


	11. Chapter 11

11

Cambria's POV

All I taste is blood, and everything seems to be stained rust-red from the bloodshed. I am fully aware that Avan just killed Kodiak, and in a matter of seconds his body will be carried away in a hovercraft. I am also aware that he purposely mangled my arm with no regrets, and my emotions are tearing me up. I hear a wail of agony followed by more sharp cries.

"Conan!" I blurt out in horror as I run towards him.

"Look at your—arm you idiot..." he trails off, "you didn't have to do that… you could've gone home."

"Is that so eight?" Avan smirks.

I had completely forgotten about the girl that just murdered Kodiak standing by to watch the scene unfold. A rumble emerges from the air and the hovercraft approaches to pick up Kodiak's body.

"So tell me, were you the pathetic little tribute Kodiak ran to to form an alliance with instead of staying with his own kind?"

"Y-yes I am." I respond shakily, angered and hurt by her comment.

"And you, her beloved boyfriend lying on the ground in a heap of cuts, bruises, and burns, with no means of fighting back or protecting his love." she continues with a gleam in her eye and a smirk.

My nerves are so close to snapping I can feel myself breaking Avan's neck in two. She opens her mouth to continue and I pounce on her with a vicious snarl knocking her to the ground. She is shocked for a second and then her ice-blue eyes flash with something that I can't decode, but I know that look wants blood. I notice she too is unarmed, which means complete hand-to-hand combat.

Conan's POV

Unearthly pains seeps from every crevice of my mangled body, but I force myself to stand up anyway. Cambria has jumped on Avan and is now attempting to take down the Career unarmed. After I heave myself off of the ground and focus my eyes on the arena, I see that there are only four tributes left including me. The sky begins to darken, enclosing the arena in shadows, and I figure out what our outfits were for.

"We're glowing!" the tribute on the opposite side of the Cornucopia yells, and Avan's ears perk up. She whips around the follow the young boy's voice. How he survived for so long I don't know, but I know for certain he won't be the Victor, not on Avan's terms. Right as I make up my mind to follow the voice and try to get to him before and take

his weapon, Cambria takes off running in that direction.

"Cambria, stop!" I hiss just loud enough for her to hear me.

She turns around and shakes her head vigorously. She is burning with emotion and I can tell she desperately wants to get out alive, without me I'm certain.

A canon shakes the arena and I fall down with a thud. The boy is dead and only three of us remain. His face appears in the sky next to a twelve. I struggle to get up off of the ground and run towards Avan and Cambria. The end is so close I can taste it, but I'm not sure if I want to make it back and face life without Cambria, or her go back to Garret without me. Another canon, my heart falls into my stomach. I know who that canon blast was for. The sky lights up with… sure enough, Cambria's face.

I start to walk around in a circle, unsure of what to do next and completely lost in my head. I search back in my mind for memories of Cambria, but all I can find is the image of her face in the sky. I let hot, stinging tears fall down my face, and I fall onto my knees, not caring about every camera turned on me. How could I have been so naïve, to think that her death wouldn't hurt me like this, so hard headed that I couldn't even follow her into the woods and become allies with her? I needed her and she needed me. The pain in my body is numbed by my emotions. I was so worried about losing her that I tried to avoid her to save me the pain. Stupid.


	12. Chapter 12

12

The rumble of buzzing that can only come for a thousand bees shakes me to life and my eyes widen with fear. One sting from a bee and I'm dead in an instant. I look up and see a dark, moving cloud.

"N-no bees!" I croak out in terror, running toward the Cornucopia for my life.

All of my pain has been forgotten in my mad rush to escape my death trap. Across the Cornucopia I see a giant, dark wave, just like the one that came after me a week before and nearly got me killed. Avan is running right towards me with a horrible fear in her eyes, the massive wave close behind her. This is the Capitol's way of ending the Games fast, and pushing me and the Career together for the death. The Cornucopia is feet above me, and I leap for it to escape the bees, slamming into the hard metal shoulder first. I can feel my shoulder shatter and all of my pain comes back in a wave. There's a yelp from Avan and she scrambles onto the Cornucopia, just as the wave crashes down.

Silence.

"Conan, you made it this far just to be killed in the most brutal way possible, right in view of millions of cameras." she growls.

I can't open my mouth to say anything and I just sit beneath the Cornucopia dumbstruck.

"Won't you come up here so we can end this quickly and I can get my prize for beating twenty-three other tributes?" Avan growls impatiently, as if I'm going to let her win.

"Alright, I'll come." I answer shakily, trying to stand up.

My left arm is useless, so I lean completely on my right arm and get up. I make my way up the side of the Cornucopia, unsure of what I'm doing, but when I see her face I snap too. I throw a punch at her face and then kick her in the stomach before she can react. She swings her arm out and I see the blade one second too late. It slashes my leg, right through a burn and starts pouring blood. I can see all of this with the help our glowing outfits. She notices my lame arm and attempts to hit it, but grab her hand and snap it backwards, wincing at the sound it makes. I am doubled over in pain from all of my injuries and I don't see her swinging the knife at me again. It cuts my lame arm and I shout in agony and swear under my breath.

"Did you really think you could beat me Conan? I killed the one that mattered most to you and you still think you can beat me, eight, look at yourself."

"Of course I can beat you because you're bred to kill and I'm strong." I croak.

"Oh?" she asks quietly. "Do you want to kill me Conan, do you?"

I stare into her green eyes as I reach over to her arm and wait for the perfect moment.

"Yes." She prepares to move and I twist her arm backwards and grab the knife from her hands stabbing her side right as she hits my head. I fall onto the metal and everything goes silent.

*BOOM*

I sit up to everything brightening around me, and I immediately remember stabbing Avan with a knife before I was hit in the head. I attempt to stand and look around to no avail, so I sit and wait for some kind of announcement.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, the winner of the 98th Hunger Games!" Claudius' voice bellows over the speaker.

A hovercraft flies in to take me to wherever they take the victors and my head is spinning. The craft stops over my head and a ladder flies down, but I don't want to get on to it. The victory feels empty, and I had to kill again to get to it. I eventually give in to the ladder and let it pull me up to the Peacekeepers waiting above.

"Congratulations victor!" the lady that helps me off of the ladder shouts over enthusiastically.

"Thank you." I respond quietly, holding back unwanted tears.

All of the other Peacekeepers smile but say nothing. The hovercrafts are amazing and I didn't really get to soak it in on the way to the Games with everything else on my mind, but now my mind has been forced to be cleared so that I can make my appearances on T.V. with a smile.

The ride back to the Capitol is quick and I barely have any time to contemplate anything before I'm loaded off and whisked to a huge white hallway lined with glass doors, directly underneath the Training Center. My entire body is consumed in pain and I nearly blacked out from Avan's hit on the walk down the hallway and the Peacekeepers had to grab my arms.

"You'll be in here." a short lady with cherry red hair leads me to my room.

They sit me on a metal table and set a tray full of food on a table next to me. I realize how hungry I am when I take the first bite, and I shovel the rest in with my good arm a little too quickly. Before I can ask where I am I'm out cold.

I wake up a little while later and I find myself strapped to the table with an IV drip in my arm. Most of my pain is gone and my arm feels significantly better. I find myself hungry again, and sure enough, a fresh plate of food is sitting in front of me. I gulp it down and pass out again.

This time when I wake up the straps are gone and so is all of the pain. I look down at my arm and see perfect, untouched skin. No scars, no burns, and my shoulder has been healed completely. The food that they gave me must've been drugged so they could work on me.

"I see you're awake, Conan." Cherry says with a smile. "We need to get you to your meeting with your stylists, you have an interview tonight."

"Ok, thanks." I respond, forcing a smile.

I follow her down a long corridor and to the elevator that'll take me to my floor in the Training Center. She steps in and presses the button and we begin our ascent. These elevators are really quick which helps me to avoid having to talk to Cherry about the Games. Good. The elevator comes to a stop on the sixth floor and the huge, metal doors fly open, revealing all of the stylists, Sasha, and Olin.

"Congratulations Conan, you were amazing!" they all shout in unison, all except for Leon.

He is furiously jotting things down in his notebook, refusing to look at anyone.

"We're all very sorry about Cambria." Sasha sighs and pats me on the back.

Everyone else nods in sad agreement. I don't reply to this, but I nod my head and glance quickly down at my feet.

"We need to get you ready for your interview tonight. Leon will help decide on your costume and prepare your speech to wow the crowd yet again." she squeals and nearly jumps out of her heels in excitement.

She sends me forward with a slight push and she and all of the other stylists follow closely behind.


	13. Chapter 13

13

"What's your opinion on the outfit Conan?" Yolanda asks quietly.

She shows me a suit very similar to the costume I wore to the tribute parade only weeks before. Now I am the only tribute going in for an interview, and I am now a victor.

"I like it a lot." I say, forcing a smile onto my blank face. "It's similar to the one I wore to the parade."

"That's the point; the people of the Capitol loved your costume for the parade. Why not show them again?" Leon said pointedly.

That was the most I had ever heard out of that man's mouth and definitely more than I expected to hear today.

"You've got a point." I reply as I reluctantly pull the suit on over my under shirt.

Yolanda's lips are a sparkling, lively pink and they match her outfit and hair perfectly. Leon looks more normal than ever and much less like a Capitol person than before the Games. He's wearing mainly an ashy gray with not a splash of color anywhere but his bright green eyes and he is staring plainly at me with no look of excitement or liveliness like that of a typical Capitol inhabitant.

"I miss her too." he says quietly as he turns towards the door and walks out.

I know how close Leon and Cambria had grown over the span of time we were preparing for the Games. It turns out I was not the only one deeply affected by her death.

"Are you alright Conan?" Yolanda asks worriedly.

"I'm fine, just a little tired, that's all." I try not to worry this bubbly, young woman with my emotions. "Thanks."

"Great then, let's get you ready for your interview!" she squeals in delight.

A small grin creeps onto my face and I furiously nod my head, trying to match her enthusiasm. She literally frolics over to a cushioned, red chair and pulls it right in front of me, promptly sitting down and giving me the floor.

"I wanted to start by thanking my mentor, Olin, for helping prepare me for the biggest challenge of my life, the Hunger Games. My stylists helped a lot too, by helping me shine, literally, even in my darkest hour and Sasha for just being there. The gift from the sponsors that I got saved my life in the arena, thank you Capitol." I let a heavy sigh slip out after I finish, but Yolanda doesn't notice.

I can't believe I actually thanked the Capitol. Yolanda is beaming, exposing her perfectly white teeth and clapping loudly.

"I've taught you well Conan." she chirps and stands up on her pink heels.

She pats my back and leaves the room, leaving me alone in my suite in silence. I don't think I've been truly alone since the day before the Games in this exact room. No cameras and no people to speak of.

"Great." I groan.

I start to pace around the room holding my head, the silver suit constricting my movement slightly. Although Yolanda and Leon made me feel a little better, I still want to lock the door to my room and cry my heart out. But I know better than anyone that that will not end well. A small headache has come on and I stop pacing and sit down on the bed, rubbing my temples. A knock sounds on the door and Sasha's choppy accent fills the room.

"Conan dear, your interview as a new victor is in fifteen minutes, this is BIG!" Sasha nearly shouts through the door.

"I'll be right out." I call back.

I heave off of the bed and dash into the bathroom to splash water on my face. My face is pale and my eyes are dark from the stress I've been under lately, which is not a very good appearance for TV. I open the door to my bathroom and find Evian, Botch, and Osiris with their hands full of makeup and a look of anticipation in their eyes.

"You're looking a little sickly Conan; we are going to put a tiny bit of make-up on to brighten your face." Osiris chimes before scooting me towards the mirror.

"Hold still now, this will make you look wonderful." Evian's purple eyes are sparkling.

They begin to brush my face with all sorts of dusts, and creams. This lasts for about three minutes before they step back and turn me towards the mirror.

"Voila!" Evian exclaims.

My face looks much tanner and the area around my eyes has been brightened and lightly colored. I look like a bright, happy, and carefree person on the outside and that's all I can ask for. I'm a little uncertain about the color on my eyelids though, I look a little like a work of art, or worse, a Capitol citizen.

This thought sends chills down my spine.

"Come along now, Sasha is waiting for you outside." Osiris says with a grin.

His words barely register as I stare into the mirror.

"You can look at yourself on TV later on," Evian chides, "you need to eat now before you interview"

"Ok." I reply simply and follow them out of the bathroom.

"Oh Conan, look at you, so handsome." Sasha squeals as we walk towards the elevator. "Your stylists can work wonders."

Her comment stings and plays with the tears behind my eyes. One falls and I flick it away before she notices. Today Sasha is dressed in a deep purple similar to Evian's eyes, and her dress is nowhere near casual. It has an extravagant skirt studded in sequins and a braided silk top. She obviously notices me staring at it because the opens her mouth and begins to babble on the way down the elevator.

"Isn't it wonderful? It was designed by one of the Capitol's best, you may not know him but he does great work." she blurts out and then spins on her heels. "I'm so proud of you Conan, and I'm sorry for your loss."

A feeling of anger has replaced the ache inside of me and I can feel a cold sweat running down my neck. Why can't the Capitol people shut up about the Hunger Games for one second? I glance over at Sasha to see her smiling broadly as we step off of the elevator. Do they ever stop smiling? I spot Olin sitting at a far table scarfing away on a plate of delicious looking roast beef and Sasha flies over to greet him.

He gets up slowly and approaches me with his arms open. I walk towards him and he pulls me into an awkward embrace before leading me to his table.

"I never got a chance to congratulate you properly Conan. You really deserve this and I knew all along that strong will of yours would benefit you." he bellows.

"I guess I knew it too." I respond, removing my stare from his eyes to the floor again. "Thanks. For everything."

"My pleasure. You'll be joining me in the Victor's Village in a matter of days." he puts the unpleasant thought of having to leave my life- long home into my head.

I grab a plate and pile three rolls from the basket in the center of the table onto it and start eating.

On my way to my final interview with Caesar I walk in between Leon and Yolanda, trying to avoid Sasha's over enthusiastic babbling. I also wanted to spend more time with the only two people that make me feel like a normal human being in the Capitol. Yolanda's bright lips, outfit, and hair brighten my spirits and Leon's calm tone is keeping me sane right now.

"Just be yourself, that's all anyone can ask for and that's all the Capitol wants to see… trust me." Leon says quietly, his steady green gaze is resting in my hazel eyes. "Cambria would've wanted that too."

His comment makes me smile and brings up tears at the same time. Cambria would've said that same thing to me if she was still here. I can clearly see how much he misses her special personality in everything he says and does. He's changed so much since I first met him.

"Get ready, you're on in three minutes." Sasha calls from far behind me. "Here's some water to wet your throat for talking."

The tapping of her heels gets closer until she's right next to me with a cup of water.

"Thank you Sasha." I say, careful to hide all of the emotion in my voice. "Water is just what I need."

I sit on the bench in the wings of the stage for exactly three minutes until I hear Caesar's voice bellow from the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you've all been waiting for… here's Conan, the one and only victor of the 98th Hunger Games!" he shouts.

The crowd goes wild with applause and I can feel my heart racing out of my chest. I take one step onto the stage and I stop, waiting for some sort of cue for my appearance.

"Conan, you may come sit next to me now." he hisses into the wings.

I jolt forward and walk out onto the stage like a deer in the headlights. When I see the familiar crowd I warm up a little and make my way to the large white couch across from Caesar.

"So Conan, is there anything you would like to say before we recap the Games?" he urges me forward.

"Well… I wanted to start by thanking my mentor, Olin, for helping prepare me for the biggest challenge of my life, the Hunger Games. My stylists helped a lot too, by helping me shine, literally, and Sasha for just being there. The gift from the sponsors that I got saved my life in the arena, thanks."

I left out the thanking the Capitol part because it made me sick to my stomach. I clasp my hands together and set them on my lap as a huge screen slides into place in view of everyone.

"Thank you too Conan. It's a pleasure to have you out here on this stage tonight, right everyone?" he works the crowd and more applause erupts from the colorful people.

The screen lights up and everyone directs their attention there.

On the screen they show the tribute parade and all of the colorful costumes, including me and Cambria in our hovercraft outfits. The films skips to a snip- it of each interview, focusing mainly on mine. Next it shows all of the nervous, sweaty tributes on their plates surrounded by sand and the boy from ten getting blown to pieces. I see the Careers murderously stabbing and spearing helpless tributes trying to escape, and me get pinned down by the large boy. Inferno, Avan, and the girl from one approach me and I send Inferno limping away. I see Kodiak slip away into the trees... Later on comes the berry wave and me getting shot in the neck by Avan, they skip the murder of her ally. They show the feast, and me flinging a knife and Saffra before running away with supplies. I catch a clip of Cambria fainting which moves to the force field frying my camp and me, and the boy from seven on fire. They show me laying on the sand and Kodiak pursuing me with an axe before beating the daylights out of me. Cambria gets injured and Avan kills Kodiak. The audience laughs at the little boy that screamed "We're glowing!" They show Cambria's face in the sky and I fight back stinging tears. A huge eruption of laughter bursts from the crowd when it shows the cloud of bees and me frozen in horror yelling. They show Avan climbing onto the Cornucopia and me smashing my shoulder on the side. It gets dark on the screen and you can only see me and Avan fighting, I stab her and I get knocked out. The screen goes black.

"Wow, what a Games that was. The Gamemakers outdid themselves." Caesar exclaims when the screen slides back into place.

Many cheers, yelps, hollers, hoots, and laughs explode from the crowd and I sit there with no expression but pure horror on my face.

"Don't worry, there are no bees chasing you now Conan, there's no need for that look." he laughs and claps me on the back. "You're a victor now son."

I swallow the bile in my throat and force a bright smile onto my face. It helps to think of Leon and Yolanda right now.

"I am, and it's great, really." I lie. "I've heard the Victor's Village in District Six is nice."

"Indeed it is, and it's all laid out for you for after your tour," he replies, "congratulations."

President Snow walks out onto the stage holding a single gold crown in his hands. I walk over to him and he sets it on my head and shakes my hand.

"Congratulations Victor, you've come this far to be a mentor for next year's tributes and work alongside your fellow mentor for the rest of your lifetime. You will live in peace in the Victor's Village, safe from the Reaping. _For now_." President Snow says before exiting the stage.

I caught onto his last words that were only a mere whisper: "_For now_."


	14. Chapter 14

14

The interview earlier and trying to keep a bright face the entire day wore me down. I saunter down the hall with my head hanging low below my slouching shoulders and a feeling of pure exhaustion dragging at my body. I am walking barefoot, not caring what anyone in the Capitol thinks about it. President Snow's daunting words are still lingering in the back of my mind.

"Conan, I wanted to speak with you before you went to bed." Leon's voice carries from down the hall.

I turn around and face him, holding my head up and looking right into his eyes.

"Yes?" I ask tiredly.

He opens the door to my room and sits in the red chair near the bed. I flop down and look at him.

"I know all of this has been hard on you, trust me." he says calmly. "Keeping a smile on your face even when it hurts, and having to go live in a strange place without your family… and Olin."

"It's been horrible and I'm worn out." I sob, letting go of the tears.

"I understand and I'm going to do my best to help you through it. Ok?" he asks quietly.

"I know. Thanks." I sniff and wipe my eyes on the back of my hand.

Leon pats my shoulder and waves his goodbye before exiting the room. I push off of the bed and walk into the bathroom to wash everything off of my face. Underneath the dusts and creams I am still sickly pale and my eyes are bloodshot from crying, but I felt good to let go for once now that the Games are over. I drag myself into bed and I am immediately asleep.

"Rise and shine sleepyhead!"

I wake up to Sasha's face inches from mine and I nearly jump out of my skin.

"It's another big day for the victor! You're to get onto the train for your tour of the districts and your return home, so come down and get breakfast!" Sasha shouts from the door and then slams it without thinking.

I put my head in my hands and groan loudly. Her yelling and door slamming gave me a headache and I'm still exhausted from yesterday. I heave off of the bed, walk groggily to the closet, and pull something out. It's a crème colored shirt and a washed out pair of blue jeans which seems fine for right now, so I slide it on and walk out of the door. No one is outside ready to spring on me as usual and I am relieved. It should be a virtually uneventful breakfast.

"Conan, wait up!" Olin shouts from somewhere in the hallway. "I want to help you prepare for your victory tour."

This man's attitude has changed a lot since he was snapping at Cambria before the Games.

"Ok, can we talk about it while I'm eating?" I ask sharply.

"Sure, whatever, I just want to get you prepared." he says. "You know, I went through this same thing when I was about your age."

"Yeah, I know." I mumble.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

"I'm fine. I've just got a headache." I snap back at him.

He slows down and walks a few paces behind me. I'm so frustrated and upset right now that I can't even control my actions, so I'm glad he's giving me some space.

When I get into the dining room I find an elaborate breakfast out on the table and I feel my stomach grumble loudly.

"Hungry?" Sasha asks through a bite of pancake.

"Yes." I respond before sliding into my seat at the table and digging in.

Olin sits down next to me and prepares to give me my pep talk.

"Eat up, you only have thirty minutes before you're expected on the train." he begins. "When we get on, our first stop will be District 12 and so on, saving our District for last."

"Mhmm." I acknowledge through a mouthful of egg and bread.

"You'll be expected to give a speech to each of the Districts at their Justice Building and it will be broadcasted to all of Panem." Olin continues.

I nod and continue scarfing food.

"And you might not want to eat too much because there will be a sample of food in every District to try out of respect… for the lost tributes and such." he ends with a wink.

At that comment I nearly choke on my mouthful and end up spitting some egg onto Sasha's plate. I swallow the rest and drink some water, pushing my plate away and standing up.

"Just kidding, there are no food samples." Olin says with an ear to ear grin.

"What?!" I shout angrily.

I grab a piece of toast with butter on it from Sasha and throw it at Olin. It lands in his hair and he whips around with a growl. Right as he picks up the entire stack of pancakes Sasha breaks in.

"Cut it out you two, you're acting like children and I will not tolerate it!" she snaps before stamping out of the room.

Olin sets down the pancake stack and I storm out in Sasha's footsteps. Olin just sent me over the edge with the sample thing and I needed to get out before I exploded. Cambria would've helped me handle this if she were here. But then again, I wouldn't feel like this if she was still here. I decide that by the time I get to my room it will probably be time to get on the bus, so I walk into the sitting room and plop down on the couch.

"Sasha must have forgotten that we are still kids." Olin sighed from behind the couch.

"How old are you?" I ask while still facing forward.

"18." he replies quietly. "And you're 15, right?"

"Yeah." I respond. "What's it like to be a mentor?"

"It's tough knowing that you're responsible for two kids' lives when you've barely lived your own yet. You get pretty attached to some of the kids and you feel responsible for their deaths." Olin says with a deep sigh.

"You seemed a lot older when I first met you." I almost whisper.

"I guess that's what the Games and mentoring does to you." this time it's his turn to force a smile.

I stand up and give him the 'we should get going' look. He nods his head and we make our way to the train station to board our train.

"It's about time you two got out here. We only have one minute before the train leaves." Sasha says impatiently. "What would the Districts think if the newest victor didn't make it to his tour?"

She clucks her tongue as we board the train and it takes off the second we step on. I love riding the Capitol trains. One because they're made by District Six and two because the experience is so amazing in itself.

After Sasha gets through looking both of us up and down and taking mental notes, she stands up and walks over to me.

"What exactly are you wearing?" she asks sharply.

I look down and see the crème colored shirt and jeans I put on this morning.

"Clothes." I reply smartly.

"This is a victory tour not a lounge day at home." she chides. "How do you expect to make an impression in these?"

She huffs in my direction and walks to the back of the train.

"I didn't even notice what you were wearing. I should've paid more attention to the boy I'm supposed to be mentoring." he says sheepishly. "But I know Sasha will handle it."

"No, I should've been paying more attention to myself, and I believe you about Sasha." I admit.

"Put this on." Sasha snaps.

She's holding a pair of black dress pants and a jacket to go over my shirt and I take them gratefully. With the suit in hand I walk into the bathroom to put it on and I can hear Sasha talking to Olin.

"For right now Conan is your responsibility and you don't seem to be taking it seriously." Sasha snaps.

"I helped him prepare for the Games and ultimately got him through them Sasha." Olin snaps back.

They both stop talking. When I emerge, Sasha applauds lightly and gives thumbs up to my appearance.

"We should be stopping in District 12 in less than five minutes." Olin informs me. "Do you know what you're going to say when you get there?"

"I'm not completely sure yet. Maybe I'll congratulate them." I say, unsure.

"On what?" he asks.

"The strength of their two tributes and say sorry for their loss." I continue.

"That might work, and you can say something nice about one of their tributes." he suggests.

"One of them made it to the final four and I was really surprised, so I could talk about his strength." I decide while saying it.

Olin agrees just as the train pulls to a stop at the station. I've never seen District 12 and I wasn't paying attention as we passed through it, so the overall sadness and hurt that seemed to make up the district took me by surprise.

"Twelve is the poorest district and I feel sorrow every time I set foot here." Sasha sighs.

I step off of the train and into the station slowly, followed by Sasha and then Olin. Twelve is the coal mining district and I've heard about so many deaths in the mines on the news it struck me. Three Peacekeepers surround the three of us and escort us to the Justice Building in silence.

When we get inside I find a building very similar to the one in my district, except this one has an eerie run-down feeling.

"Right this way." the Peacekeeper says in a kind tone. "Through these doors and there are chairs for you."

He leads us out of the doors and we are met with light applause and a few cheers. In the back of the crowd I see a tall man surrounded by two sobbing little girls, and then I see the resemblance. The picture of the boy from Twelve flashes into my head and I glance back at the man. It's a mirror image.

I get the cue to address the crowd, so I stand up.

"Hello. I'm Conan from District Six and I am this year's Victor." I introduce myself slowly. "You might expect me to talk about myself in the Games, but instead I wanted to talk about your two tributes."

Olin gives me a look and I continue.

"Two strong District Twelve tributes made it very far in the Games, but the one that stood out to me the most was the boy." I am cut off by a small voice.

"You mean M-milo?" the little girl stammers.

"Yes, and he made it through almost the entire Games, the force field, and to the final four tributes." I finish and look back out at her. "You must be his sister, what's your name?"

"Silver… and my sister's Grier." she says with a tiny smile.

"Wonderful. Good luck for you two and your father." I announce before sitting back down.

This time there is more applause and Milo's dad smiles up at me and mouths something I can't make out.

The rest of the tour goes mostly as planned and most all of the citizens greet me with applause. Eleven, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven, Five, Four, and Three have passed now and they have been seemingly uneventful.

"You've done great so far Conan, now we only have the Career Districts to go… and…" he trails off. "Those should be interesting."

I know what he means by interesting, so I swallow any emotions that are eating me up and try to prepare myself.

"In these Districts it's best to talk about yourself in the Games and not give the people any extra fire. They train to get their fire." Olin explains. "Try to appear calm and cool even if you don't feel like it, got it?"

"Yeah, I'll keep all of my emotions in and only talk about myself in the Games." I say plainly.

"Ok, we'll get to District Two in about four minutes, so use this time to prepare yourself Conan." he instructs me.

I begin to pace back and forth between the chair and the door and shake my head. This is the way my dad taught me to clear my mind, other than ignoring the people trying to get to me. Olin's words brought back memories of my dad helping me prepare for the Reaping when I turned twelve:

_"Use the time you have now to prepare son, just try to clear your head of everything and think of it as just a regular day." he soothed._

_ "How do I do that dad?" I asked through tears._

_ "Pacing always helped me when I had to go through this. Just pace and shake your head slowly to calm your nerves and clear your mind." he said before leaving me alone to try._

I catch Olin giving me an odd look when I snap back into reality and I stop immediately.

"What's that? You're shaking your head like a dog." he states questioningly.

"It's the way my dad taught me to clear my mind." I grumble, brushing his comment off. "How close to District Two are we?"

The train jerks backwards and the brakes squeal against the metal of the tracks, which answers my question. Sasha comes up behind me and lays a hand on my shoulder, escorting me out silently. When I step out onto the ground I find marble under my feet instead of cement and four burly Peacekeepers standing towards the exit.

They close around the three of us and we're pushed forward and out the exit. District Two seems much bigger and every large building is well kept and sturdy.

_District two; Masonry. _

As we approach the Justice Building I see a huge crowd no bigger than the ones in the other districts, but each person stands out on their own.

"Keep it moving." the Peacekeeper hisses.

I glance at Sasha who gives me a reassuring smile, and for once I am grateful for her excessive happiness. Olin elbows me hard in the side as we mount the stage and I realize I never prepared my speech for this District.

"Make it up as you go along." Olin whispers and then sits down in the chair.

Thousands of fiery eyes stare up at me as I walk towards the microphone and all of the haze in my brain comes rushing back.

"Come on Victor, talk." a tall, muscular blond boy sneers.

I clear my throat and rough applause erupts from the crowd.

"This year's Games were very well crafted by the Capitol, do you agree?" I ask the crowd.

"Yes." most of the crowd shouts in unison.

"Well, I conquered those obstacles and I stand before you today as the newest Victor from District Six, Conan." I bellow proudly, forcing back all other emotions. "It took strength, smarts, and skill to win; and I had all three. I stood on that Cornucopia and claimed Victory."

Many of the men and women are looking at me like I'm a joke and their own children should've won, but one lady is crying, only one. Her eyes are large and a milky grey, pouring tears. She was Kodiak's mother, I'm almost certain.

"There was one Career that showed real strength in the Arena though, up until the end." I finish boldly; sparking many angry replies and swears from the murderous, rough crowd.

I look out there and see the grey eyed woman crying harder, but quietly so as not to attract attention. She knew who I was talking about.

"Thank you Victor; that will be all." the woman in the seat on the opposite side of the stage says sharply.

The Peacekeepers walk up behind us and lead us off of the stage and back to the marble clad station. Sasha and Olin share a look of bewilderment and I know I'll be questioned when I set foot inside.

"What in heaven's name gave you the idea to say such foolish things?!" Sasha asks in a fluster. "You know better than anyone here Kodiak was the biggest controversy with the Careers in these Games and numerous others!"

"I saw her." I say simply

"Who exactly?" Olin asks, still shell-shocked.

"Kodiak's mom. I know it was her and I knew it was the right time to say that." I say confidently. "Doubt me all you want, but the problem hasn't left Districts One and Two and it won't follow us back to District Six."

"How can you be so sure?" Sasha asks sharply.

"I never even said his name." I say before walking over to the couch.

It is getting late and the sun is dipping low on the horizon. I made it through the District that brought up the most painful memories and now I have a lump in my throat that I can't swallow. Kodiak was the one who turned on Cambria in the first place and injured her arm, and my contempt towards him is unspeakable. He beat me black and blue with his bare hands and was preparing to pull a knife on both of us when Avan killed him.

"Hey Conan, are you ok?" Olin's tone is cool now and he seems worried.

"No, but I'll hold it up until I get to the Victor's Village." I reply, forcing in the whimper.

Olin will never be my friend. I'll always see him as the mentor who shouted at my best friend the day of the Games, and not the eighteen-year-old boy who from now on I'll have more than enough in common with. We will stay mentor-to-mentor in my eyes. Never more and never less.

"We'll be in District One in ten minutes and I want Conan to rehearse before this time." Sasha calls from another car of the train.

"Remember, don't give them any fire and this time tell about you barely dodging the berry juice wave, that is skill and strength right there." Olin claps me on the bad shoulder that, even after all the work, still has residual pain when touched.

"Ouch!" I cringe at this and grab my shoulder.

"I forgot about the pain on contact, sorry." Olin apologizes.

"That's fine; it's not the first time it's happened." I admit and force a grin through it all.

The train pulls to a stop at the final destination before District Six and I step out onto the glassy marble platform of the District One station. A set of Peacekeepers are waiting by the archway that leads to an elaborate District that seems to sparkle every time one of the remaining rays of sunlight touches it. The buildings here are sturdy as well and very well kept, but everything here has a touch more elegance than in District Two.

The Justice Building is cut out of the same white marble and there are carvings in the sides and ivory climbing up the walls. The mass of people in front of it is very similar to the one in District Two. I pick up the pace a little, climb quickly onto the stage, and prepare to address the people right away.

"Hello! I'm Conan, this year's Victor from District Six." I begin confidently. "The Games this year were tricky and full of unexpected traps like a giant wave of berry juice."

A little laughter and some applause from the crowd.

"Well, I got caught right in front of the wave and was nearly pummeled, but I jumped out of the way just in time. That took skill and confidence." I continue. "It wasn't at all easy, but I fought through with weapons, wits, and my own two hands."

The crowd begins to clap for a few seconds and then they stop and return to their hard and judgmental stares.

"Thank you." I say before taking my seat.

I didn't look through the crowd to match appearances because not one person stood out to me. They all looked like people trained in fighting since the day they could walk. No huge gray eyes and no mirror images in the mass of Careers and adults that missed their chance in the Games.

"Thank you Victor, you are free to go." a frail man sitting near Olin announces in a hoarse voice.

We stand up and so do the two young looking Peacekeepers that lead us back to the station and the train. My tour is over and all that's left is to return to District Six, to my new home in the Victor's Village.

**End**


End file.
